Royals – Review

Royals – Review

“Fun part of having a famous sibling — you yourself somehow become kind of famous. But it seems like you just get the annoying parts of fame, like, you know, your boyfriend selling your private stuff to a tabloid.”

Daisy Winters just wants to be a regular sixteen year old girl. The highlight of her summer is going to be attending KeyCon with her best friend, Isa, to meet their favorite author. Until her boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend, attempts to sell their prom photos to the tabloids.

The problem isn’t that Daisy is famous. It’s her sister, Ellie. Who happens to be engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. The Palace, always on public relations overdrive, decides Daisy and her tabloid situation needs to be handled. Which means the family is heading to Scotland for the summer.

Suddenly Daisy is thrown into a life she never wanted. She’s expected to handle the insanity of the younger Prince and his Royal Wreckers crew along with the pressure of appeasing the Queen, and is armed only with a binder on Royal Etiquette. Oh, and Miles. The more judgmental but calmest of the Royal Wrecker crew. Somehow, Daisy has to make it through the summer scandal free. For the sake of her sister’s happiness.

“I’m not sure how this went from “super-charming welcome party” to “property theft” in just a few minutes, but here we are.”

I absolutely loved this book! It’s rare for a book to produce actual giggles from me. But this book had me laughing out loud on nearly every page. Daisy is, quite simply, a riot and I adore her! Her reactions to everything, whether internal or external, are so realistic. The introduction she gets to Royal life reads exactly the way you’d picture things happening. I love the disillusion she experiences when meeting Seb and the Royal Wreckers, showing that glamorous and attractive aren’t always good things.

Her reluctance to be swept into this glamorous life is part of what makes her journey so enjoyable. She isn’t a cliche character. If anything she’s very realistic. She doesn’t want to be swooned, but sometimes, lifestyles of the rich and famous is appealing even when you don’t want it to be. It’s easy to get caught up, even when you aren’t trying to. I think this aspect is what makes this book so fun. Even though the circumstances described are far-fetched, somehow everything is relatable anyway.

“I give a kind of breathless laugh that doesn’t sound like me, and honestly, I kind of want to punch myself in the face for how ridiculous I’m being, but this is some next-level swoon material happening here.”

One of the things I adore most about Daisy, is that while she is a teenager, she isn’t one sided or extreme. She reacts to things, and for sure has a mouth that isn’t too afraid (or can help) voicing her opinions, but she is also very balanced. Even when she wants to react, she tries to see the other side first. It made reading her very enjoyable. Not to mention, she’s hands down one of the most hilarious characters I’ve ever read.

I adored Seb and his cast of Royal Wreckers. They are exactly as you would imagine entitled rich youth to be. The young Prince used to getting whatever he wants, and having people constantly swoon over him. All the arrogance that money brings with it. And then amplified by a Crown. His friends are very typical of what you’d expect, but with the same wit that Hawkins brings Daisy to life, she makes these very privileged young men quite charming as well.

“I get a handshake instead of a hug, which is probably for the best as I think a hug with this boy might count as sexual contact.”

Of all the Royal Wreckers, including the Royal, Miles is by far my favorite and one of the more enjoyable characters. He’s sort of a modern Mr. Darcy. Except instead of being the higher elite, is on the lower end of the courtier totem pole. But that doesn’t stop him from always stepping in and somehow managing to save the day. Or, at least, stops Daisy from stumbling into complete disasters time and time again.

While we get the narration from Daisy, so we get mostly her thoughts and impressions, Hawkins slips in blog posts and tabloid articles every few chapters. I really liked this detail, because it highlighted the way small acts can get blown out of proportion. It also highlighted the way media, even social media and bloggers, can influence and shape the hysteria of fame. This also made one of the plot points (which I won’t discuss because, hello, spoilers) far more in depth, because you could see multiple facets of the situation without having to rely on Daisy’s thoughts or observations.

“I risk a glance at Miles, but he’s not smiling at all. If anything, he looks bored, but then, I guess he’s used to people talking like Dr. Seuss.”

In all, Royals is an incredibly good time. I found the characters relatable, very well defined, and extremely vivid on the page. They felt real. The dialogue is witty and the writing is sharp and funny. As I mentioned, I was giggling, out loud, in the middle of the night while reading. On nearly every page.

Daisy is the perfect companion for anyone needing a light, funny book for any occasion. Heading into the birth of a Prince and an upcoming Royal wedding (to an American, no less), this book is perfect to imagine what’s actually happening in the Palace right now. It’s timely without being too dated, funny without trying too hard, and very, very entertaining. I highly recommend everyone read this book!

Royals appears to be part of a series, as there is an untitled Royals #2 on Goodreads; however, this book functions perfectly well as a stand alone. That being said, I really, really, really hope we get more of Daisy, Miles, and the entire Wreckers crew. Royals comes out May 1 – check out GOODREADS for links to all your favorite retailers!